Patriots' Kayshon Boutte gives Texans defense bulletin-board material ahead of playoff clash

The defense of the Houston Texans dominated the evening during the club's 30-6 wild-card playoff win at the Pittsburgh Steelers this past Monday night. 

That victory put Houston on track for a divisional-round showdown at the New England Patriots, which will take place this coming Sunday. On Thursday, Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte somewhat poked the bear while speaking about the Houston defense. 

Kayshon Boutte not losing sleep about facing the Texans' defense

"Obviously (Houston has) a good unit," Boutte said, per Chris Mason of MassLive. "Number one ranked defense, whatever you want to say. But I mean, we’re a good offense, too. We’re not going to discredit ourselves. Just keep doing the same things we’ve been doing, honestly." 

According to ESPN stats, Houston ended the regular season ranked first in the NFL with an average of 277.2 total yards allowed per game and ranked second with an average of 17.4 points surrendered per contest. Against the Steelers, the Texans returned a fumble recovery and an interception for touchdowns.

Following that win, Houston safety Calen Bullock confidently said that "everybody knows we are the best defense." Boutte may or may not agree with that assessment. 

"I wouldn’t say one of the toughest," Boutte said when asked about New England's upcoming assignment. "At the end of the day, we know we’re going to get man coverage. We’ve gotta beat it. It’s that simple. ...We’re going to do the same things we’ve been doing. At the end of the day, we want to make them try to adjust to how we play. They’re not too complicated on defense. Not too many different looks. We get a good tell at what they’re doing. But just being us.”

Kayshon Boutte issues challenge for Derek Stingley Jr.

Boutte seems to understand he could be matched up against Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., who is now a two-time first-team All-Pro selection. Some receivers may have taken a "kill him with kindness" approach while speaking about such an opponent, but Boutte went down a different route. 

"I think they’re just physical cornerbacks," Boutte added about members of the Houston secondary. "But at the end of the day, I’m physical too. So that’s a matchup I like every day of the week. ...Derek Stingley, good cornerback. Played against him in college, last year too, but I look forward to the matchup."

As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Patriots as three-point favorites over the Texans.